Thank you so much!! After working hard in nursing school for 3 years, this trip is well deserved. My husband and I have been looking forward to it since we booked in March. Our first time staying Deluxe as well!!

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So, I've been lurking on this thread since the beginning. Sadly, I have no tickers and don't know if I'll ever be able to contribute. But, I just had to let you know that this is my favorite thread on the DISboards! The work that has gone into this is amazing and I look forward to checking in each day to see if there is anything new from the live reporters. The next best thing to being there.

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Thank you so much for coming out of "lurkdom". I consider everyone who posts comments, questions, suggestions, etc. to also be a contributor to this thread. So in other words, you are now a part of this thread. I hope you will continue to be an active member by commenting whenever the mood strikes or whenever you find an update particularly drool-worthy.

I'm only half way through the thread, because I've been on an self-inflected Restaurant Board break till closer to our trip.

But, anyway, our next trip is coming up very soon. We'll be traveling from 1/24 - 2/10 with a group varying in size from 5 to 9. We're driving from Upstate NY to Lorton, VA to catch the Autotrain down to Sanford. Staying one night in the new Drury Inn in Orlando, then 2 weeks at AKL- Kidani.

We're an interesting group to feed. One gluten free child, a vegan, a picky kid with sensory issues, a couple of foodies, a drinker and a few tee-totalers...oh, and on this trip, one BRAND NEW Disney visitor in our friend Angela, who is visiting as her "hit Disney before 30th birthday" goal.

I'd love to review if anyone would be interested. I could review from start to finish including the Autotrain if that would be of interest to the folks here. We're taking our first non-dining plan trip in a decade and using TIW instead. There'll be a strong mix of mostly onsite dining from sit down to Counter Service and a few off-site or in room meals. I anticipate MANY, MANY snacks.

The rest of the meals are up in the air. Still finalizing plans. I need suggestions for CS at Hollywood Studios. We've made many, many trips and I've still never had a good CS meal there, but don't have the timing right on this trip to leave for Epcot or Boardwalk the way we usually do for lunch.

~Leigh

Oh, is there still a scavenger hunt or anything that would convince my group to take photos of their food without complaining? They're super competitive, so anything that gives them "points", even virtual points, is a winner. We're actually doing a family photo scavenger hunt through the entire WDW complex over our 2 week vacation for a grand prize and bragging rights.

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Hi Leigh! What a diverse group you will have with you on your trip. It should make for some very interesting Disney dining, so I of course would love to have you doing live updates! As long as you are able to do your first Disney food update on or before Jan. 31st, you would be eligible to participate in our January game for the entire length of your trip. The link to the game rules is in my signature and also that is where I post the daily point totals (so you can see how your competition is doing ).

Oh, and I'll send you a copy of the PM I sent out to all of our January reporters.

Lol I've been trying to update all day- between my phone locking up, and the Internet being slow, it's slow going! It's currently sending the first half of our lunch today, but who knows when it will make it all the way through! Argh!

"My DH had the chicken parm. For the sake of this report, I tasted it and we both agreed that it was perfect. Crispy edges, moist chicken, and a thick sauce. It cam with roasted potatoes, which were fine."

Pepperoni Pizza

"DS had the pepperoni pizza, which he enjoyed a lot! The pizza here is always so good."

And speaking of Via Napoli, another reporter, Christina (DisneyMamato4) was also there today for lunch.

Via Napoli

Christina said, "We had a late lunch at 2 p.m. and were surprisingly hungry since we hadn't eaten since 8 a.m. We split a Frito Misto and a Mezzo Metro Pizza with sausage. Sorry about the pictures, the kids dug in before I could snap a picture."

Sadly that is emmebear's last update for this weekend visit to Disney World. However, the good news is that she and Emme will be back there next weekend. Therefore, I will hold off on totaling her game points, etc. until after that visit.

That leaves one last update sent to us last night, this one from quietgirl.

She and her DGF were at DHS yesterday.

quietgirl said, "Today our Studios day started out a little wonky since TSM was down...

But we made the best of it and adapted!!"

"For lunch, we originally had HBD fantasmic package...

Hollywood Brown Derby Menu as of Jan. 6, 2013

Kids' Menu

But we canceled it for...

ABC Commissary Menu

"Lol no! We ate at the Commissary once a few years ago, and won't go back! I heard its better, and these choices look more appetizing , but we're headed to-

"Yay! Although we were surprised the car outside was gone...

Where did the car go???

"They're still inside, so it's all good!!"

First some menu pics...

"We each got milkshakes -

"DGF got chocolate (she ate the cherry before I could get the pic)."

"And I got the Solar Flare, which is an orange creamsicle!!"

"These were thick, but very refreshing, and I was so excited they had this flavor, as it is my favorite milk shake flavor!!"

"We ordered an appetizer of fried pickles..."

"These were great! Crispy, lots of breading, weren't soggy or greasy like you find with a lot of fried pickles. They came with a spicy ranch, and I also asked for a cup of regular ranch just in case. Both ranches were great, nice flavor, and good consistency!"

"Then for the big shebang, we both ordered the all American picnic burger with fries."

The All American Picnic Burger - flame broiled Angus burger patty topped with grilled hot dog, sauerkraut, and sauteed onions, drizzled with ketchup, mustard and crowned with a pickle spear, served with french fries

A Look under the Bun

"I got mine without sauerkraut, and interestingly enough, I got significantly less fries than she did! I only took a pic of mine, but noticed how many fries she had, and she agreed I got less! It's ok, I had plenty to eat! This burger was really good, I LOVE the hot dog on top! The burger itself was just ok, but having the hot dog on top is genius! The fries were fantastic, fresh and crispy!"​

"And while she wasn't impressed and only had a few bites, I'm not sure if it was bad, or she was just full. I didn't taste it, I was too busy working on this..."

"The Out of this World Cheesecake- and it was! I had no problems eating the majority of it, although I did leave a little of what seemed like a rice krispy treat base? I'm not sure of that, as there's no mention of it on the menu, but it looked, tasted, and had the consistency of Rice Krispies."

"We spent the evening enjoying the Osborne Lights before heading over to DTD for dinner..."

I've heard from 5 of our reporters already today, so I think I'd better get to posting.

Our First Update of the Day was sent to us by quietgirl.

She said, "For dinner Sunday night, we headed to Downtown Disney. DGF wanted Pollo Campero again, but I had my heart set on Wolfgang Puck Express. We compromised and she got hers to go and brought it over to WPE."

"Unfortunately DGF forgot her phone, and was too hungry to wait on me to take pics, so she started on hers while I was in line. She got the same citrus chicken she got Thursday, and loved it again! She did get a tres leches for dessert- one bite, and she threw it away!"

She said, "It was a beautiful day yesterday and we wandered World Showcase.
First, I had a Pimm's Cup from the Rose & Crown Pub. I love this drink...so refreshing and, well, British.
(And healthy...look at the fruit!)"

"We also shared fish and chips from the Yorkshire County Fish Shop. It went well with my drink."

Fish & Chips

"Next was France, where we were first in line when the kiosk opened...almost as important as being the family that opens the park, right? I had a glass of Vouvray and Katy had her precious Grey Goose slushie.
I'm glad it lived up to her memories of the one she had last year!!"

"When the kids were off meeting characters, I relaxed with a Lamb Wrap from Tangierine Cafe in Morocco. The meat was good, but there wasn't enough and the pita was too much. But the couscous salad? I could have made a meal of it!!! Yumyumyum!"

Lamb Wrap served with Tangierine Couscous salad and Lentil salad

"We now have a seagull story, too! We stopped at La Cantina de San Angel because Katy wanted nachos (sorry, no pic).
The birds were pretty, uh, friendly. We were almost finished, when a huge seagull swooped down and grabbed a chip from the plate. Not once, but twice! Lunch and a show!"

Then for dinner last night, Joyce, Katy, & David went to Magic Kingdom's...

Joyce said, "No dessert here. This was my least favorite meal. Meat was dry, some of the hot food was cold, and it all (except for the couscous, ) was blah. The atmosphere seemed chaotic and, except for Eeyore, the characters rushed through the table visit. I was disappointed because last year, this was one of my favorites. Note to self: do lunch again."